If you get yourself involved you have gotten in the way of them doing their job.As for the rule miscommunication.

He is willing to provide the cash and only wants a 10% cash on cash return, no equity or involvement in the property or business itself.

for instance if I receive $1600/mo for a 1br/1bth how much more could I possibly get.Note these are in pretty good metro areas, C+ to B+ within a couple miles of the beach.I plan to not be super involved and outsource a good amount. 

@Matt Eklund the question is how involved would you like to be, and how adamant are you about systems.

My personal duplex, 100 yr old wood frame home, had evidence of dry wood termites and I refused to get professionals involved.

I’m NOT interested in getting involved in any shady business!  

So they are being managed for free, although we are heavily involved in everything. 

If you're goal is to learn as a passive investor, it is definitely possible, but you won't have much day-to-day involvement in the deal, as I am sure you are well aware of since you're currently an investor in a deal.

Also it is a violation of contractor law in most if not all state for a GC to pull a permit for you without otherwise being involved in the project.

As someone said - first thing to do is get her affairs in order if you haven't already and have DPOA's set up for finance and health if 2 people will be involved or just one for all affairs - definitely consult an attorney and get everything in writing - if your family goes and invests her money and you lose it or there are not checks/balances and someone is essentially embezzling money you're asking for trouble and can cause her all sorts of issues.